tank size for breeding pair of discus?

[eddienyc1]

I am a newbie to the hobby. I currently have a 75 gallon discus community aquarium setup with 6 young adult discus and a few other cohabitants. I set it up several months ago when the discus were much smaller.
Two of the discus have paired up and spawned several times in the tank. The babies never survive past the wriggler stage, as once they become free swimming the parents just can't corral them in a tank this busy with other inhabitants.

I want to set them up in their own tank and am thinking of getting the 56 gallon column tank setup which is for sale at Petsmart for a really good price. I am concerned that its large size (30"x18"x24") might be too big for babies to find their parents when they first become free swimming.

Has anyone else had experience with a tank this size (or bigger) being used as a breeding tank? Would I be better off with a 29 or 37 gal tank?

thanks in advance for any advice.

[CharlesRT]

29 is best, 20 is oK, good luck.

[Keith Perkins]

I personally use 29s, however one quite successful breeder I'm aware of prefers 55s. His thinking is that though it may be more difficult for fry to find the parents at first, as they grow (especially big batches) they are better off in a larger tank. When it's time to separate the fry and parents he pulls the parents and grows out the babies right in the tank they started out in. Just goes to show, there's often not just one right way to do this stuff.

[Skip]

i have read.. some people like the big tanks.. cuz when its time to separate them.. you just pull out the parents.. and you can still continue to grow out the fry.. cuz the fry will grow out of the 29 pretty quick.. but if you have the room and resources.. then what ever works best for you..

ps.. welcome to SD

[Eddie]

I use 20s and 29s

[LizStreithorst]

IMO those dimensions aren't the greatest for a breeding tank. A tank with growing fry must be kept very clean and for me at least (I'm 5'3") a 24" high tank is a bit of a chore to wipe down. I like a more shallow tank with greater surface area also becuse a greater surface area allows for more gas exchange.

I'm among those who think that breeding and raising fry in a larger tank is better for the reasons already mentioned. My favorite are 65 wides (35X24x17). I think that a regular 55 would work well, too. The larger water volume is more forgiving because given the same level of maintence the water stays cleaner.

[mmorris]

I use 29 gallon tanks and then transfer the fry to a 55 gallon when they are three weeks old or so. Sometimes I transfer the parents out of the 29 gallon to another 29 gallon and leave the fry in their original tank for a couple more weeks. If they have more problems finding the parents on the crucial first day of free-swimming in a 55 gallon then I'd rather not start them in a 55 gallon. It only takes a few minutes to transfer them, and it's a good time to count and cull for defects. I have heard some say it's easier for the fry to find the food in a smaller tank but I don't know if that's really true.

[angel eyes]

I've successfully used a 20L

[nc0gnet0]

While I prefer 29's, I have success with a 55 gallon hex tank as well. With the 55 hex being so tall, I can lower the water level for the first few days of attachment, essentially making it a 25 gallon tank, and when everything is good, raise the water level back up, giving me a 55 gallon to grow them out more. It is however a pain to keep clean.

[Willie]

40 Breeders work best for me. They're easy to clean (short arm disease) and provide a lot of water. With 29's, I have to make water changes every single day to keep it clean. If the fry have problems finding parents, just drop the water level. I subscribe to the approach that moving the parents is far less stressful than moving the fry.

Willie

[eddienyc1]

Thanks for the info everybody. I think I'm leaning towards getting the 56 column tank and just lowering the water level once the babies reach the free swimming stage. I like the idea of removing the parents and leaving the babies to grow in that tank.
As far as decor, does the breeding tank really need to be bare, or is it ok to have sandy substrate and maybe a few plants and a piece of driftwood?

[nc0gnet0]

Keep it at a bare minimum and no decor is best until at least 3 months. The amount of BBS and uneaten food would be a major PITA to clean up on a sandy bottom.

[SeaDragon]

I personally use 29s, however one quite successful breeder I'm aware of prefers 55s. His thinking is that though it may be more difficult for fry to find the parents at first, as they grow (especially big batches) they are better off in a larger tank. When it's time to separate the fry and parents he pulls the parents and grows out the babies right in the tank they started out in. Just goes to show, there's often not just one right way to do this stuff.

I have a 90gal main tank and this 55gal system is the way I'm going! I thought I'd put in my tank divider when they were small to keep close to the parents then let them have plenty of room to grow out.

[roclement]

I prefer 20gal high tanks wich is basically a standard 55gal in half.

Rodrigo

[gills]

I currently use 30 cubes but have used 29's or divided 55's and divided 125. The 30 cubes work real well though.

Will

[eddienyc1]

I ended up getting the 56 gallon column tank from Petco.
I liked the idea of having the tank be big enough to leave the babies for awhile and removing 1 or both parents to prevent their being eaten prior another spawning.
I moved my pair which have spawned several times in the community tank to this new setup now that it is cycled.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed they'll like the new tank and start spawning again.
thanks for all your advice.
Ed

[moik]

Looks good,,lots of luck trying to reach the bottom portion of the tank to clean ..Some pairs attract first day freeswimmmers better than others,,have a backup plan when you have fry attatchment issues..Your tank has a large foot print even with the water lowered,,initially when fry goe freswimming and when you start to feed BBS..From my experience ,large tanks do not disperse pair aggression..If the pair is tired of the fry,they will do what they want in any size tank..I only use 20gal. highs and 30 gal long tanks for breeding pairs..I also only keep the parents and fry together for a maximum of 2 weeks..Once the fry are eating BBS real good I split the pair up..2 weeks max..,HTH

[moik]

where do you buy those 30 gal cubes??
I currently use 30 cubes but have used 29's or divided 55's and divided 125. The 30 cubes work real well though.

Will

[nc0gnet0]

Tank looks gourgeous, but you sure you want sand in a breeding tank? I think your just asking for trouble there.... Also, just a curiousity, why do you mount your heater so high in the tank? Aren't you worried about forgetting to turn it off during water changes? Also, it's not uncommon during the first few days that the fry go free swimming to have to lower you water level quite a bit, and in your case that will leave the heater out of the water. While I am sure you can lower it, I prefer to keep disturbances at a minimum during that phase.

[eddienyc1]

That heater is temporary, I will be replacing it with a submersible one soon (this one isn't).
I used the sandy substrate because I prefer it to the bare bottom look. It's a fine grain which I also have in our community tank and I find it doesn't get that dirty.
I may end up buying some Poret foam to sub-divide the tank once I get any wrigglers. Does anyone have a good resource for buying Poret foam? I would need a 19"or 20" sq.

[gills]

Moik, I got mine from a local fish store that went out of business but petsmart sales them. They also sale the 56. The standard sizes like 20's and 29's cost less but I still like the cubes.

Will

[moik]

Poret foam can be bought at our friendly discus person store...Discus Hans sells it.. He is a sponsor here at Simply..HTH..
That heater is temporary, I will be replacing it with a submersible one soon (this one isn't).
I used the sandy substrate because I prefer it to the bare bottom look. It's a fine grain which I also have in our community tank and I find it doesn't get that dirty.
I may end up buying some Poret foam to sub-divide the tank once I get any wrigglers. Does anyone have a good resource for buying Poret foam? I would need a 19"or 20" sq.

[nc0gnet0]

It's a fine grain which I also have in our community tank and I find it doesn't get that dirty

Have you fed BBS in your community tank?

[mmorris]

A pretty pair, and a lovely display tank! You aren't really set up for breeding, though.

[eddienyc1]

After about a week in the new tank they spawned yesterday.

They had spawned several times in my community tank, but once the babies became free swimmers they would just wander off and get eaten by other fish.

I am new to this an don't expect success right off, plus the parents are really young fish, so we'll see how it goes.